(A statement from the Treatment Advocacy Center)
(Dec. 15, 2016) A recent Buzzfeed investigation exposes a nightmare for those with mental illness and their families. The article, INTAKE: Locked On the Psych Ward, details the findings of a year-long investigation into our nation's largest psychiatric hospital chain, Universal Health Services (UHS), and suggests UHS "turns patients into profits."
Among the troubling allegations is the assertion that people with serious mental illness - and without insurance - were either released from care early or not provided care in the first place. One employee explained the admissions process as, "If they don't have insurance, why are they still here?" Another said, "You were told to do things to eliminate uncompensated care, all the way down to basically lying and saying you didn't have a bed."
Buzzfeed's in-depth article paints a picture of a company broadly lacking oversight. The story also reveals a system that allowed the most severely ill to be ignored in favor of potential patients whom were less ill but who represented more lucrative insurance payouts. In short, UHS kept those without insurance out and those with insurance in.
The allegations regarding UHS are the latest in similar allegations spanning 30 years regarding for profit psychiatric hospitals that target patients with relatively easy to treat diagnoses and refuse to admit patients with serious mental illnesses.
Families of the severely mentally ill are far too familiar with being told treatment beds are unavailable, even when in the midst of a psychiatric crisis. Those with a severe mental illness are disproportionately more likely to be uninsured than those without a severe mental illness, especially prior to the expansion of Medicaid (the period of time this exposé considers). The inability to access needed treatment brings a host of negative consequences, including increased: risk of arrest and incarceration, risk of victimization and violence and risk of homelessness.
The exposé also raises questions regarding the effectiveness of the federal Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness (PAIMI) Program. PAIMI was federally established to play a vital role in our mental health system - investigate and address the abuse, injury and neglect of individuals with mental illness. Unfortunately, as these allegations demonstrate, it does not appear that this important role is being fulfilled.
So, we are encouraged that the just-passed 21st Century Cures Act includes requirements for a U.S. General Accountability Office study of PAIMI's activities and an evaluation of the fulfillment of their statutory and regulatory responsibilities.
As we await further information on this story, we are hopeful that the federal government will continue to focus on the treatment of the most severely mentally ill and will take continued steps to ensure that such care is dictated only by the need for treatment, not profit.
Treatment of severe mental illness is a matter of life and death. We must ensure that those entrusted with providing this care are held to the highest standards.
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